THE POLICE ADVISOR BLOG

If you are making a film, drama, documentary, or branded piece that involves police work, a good police advisor is not just there to check uniforms or tell you whether a scene “looks right”. I can bring my experience of over 30 years policing to help shape the story, protect realism, avoid legal mistakes, and – bonus – I can save you time on set. A lot of problems happen because people bring in an advisor too late. By then, scripts are locked, locations are booked, and scenes

Stop and search is one of those police powers that everyone has an opinion about. Most people have seen it on TV, read about it in the news, or perhaps been stopped themselves. Depending on which side of the argument you’re on, it’s either an unacceptable invasion of privacy, or a vital tool in fighting crime. From my own experience, it is also one of the powers that is easiest to misunderstand and, sometimes, easiest to get wrong. “Gotta have grounds” Officers have to have g

The news that two police officers were killed on the A66 near Middlesbrough—along with five young men in another vehicle—is horrifying. My thoughts are with the family and friends of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough of Cleveland Police. It’s heartbreaking that they left for work that day not knowing they would never return. May they rest in peace. It’s less than two days since the tragedy, and details are still emerging. Reports indicate officers were in pursuit of a VW Pa

A cell door somewhere. This is the best side to be on! If, like me, you’ve watched enough police dramas, this will already be familiar. Police have arrested someone, they’re marched into a police station, and booked in with a few brisk lines of dialogue, and “bang” they’re shut in a cell before the story moves on. The reality is that custody is one of the most legally important, carefully controlled, and often misunderstood parts of policing in England and Wales. It’s not jus

This is something I’m seeing more and more often, for some reason, in adverts and TV dramas, even the odd dark comedy (I’m looking at you, Inside No.9!) So here is my impassioned and heartfelt plea to the costume team, crowd ADs, or anyone who is putting extras and actors in police uniform in front of a camera… PLEASE NO HELMET STRAPS! Police officers wearing helmets (or ‘bowlers’ if the officer is female) with the chin strap / restraints is an absolute clanger. It never happ

In this last part of our Armed Policing blog (for now), I'm going to take a look at the uniform and equipment worn and used by armed officers. This is a huge topic, and I can only really scratch the surface. I'll be talking about contemporary policing (2020s), so before we start, a reminder that if you're working on a Film or TV production, or writing a script or book which portrays armed officers from any era, please do get in touch and I can give you some specific, expert a

CTSFOs - Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers - are the most highly trained and best equipped armed police officers in the UK. They came about in the run up to 2012, where the need was recognised for specialist armed teams to be available to respond to a terrorist attack anywhere in the UK, with a particular focus on the forthcoming London Olympics. Existing SFO (Specialist Firearms Officers) teams across the country were subjected to an intensive training program s

Every UK police force deploys Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs), on duty all day, every day, 365 days a year. They are the 24/7 armed response team, used to deal with the most serious and challenging incidents in a police area. ARVs are usually large SUV type vehicles - traditionally BMW X5s but changing over slowly to Volvo XC60s as well as the larger VW vehicles. You may have seen them about. Each car will have 2 or 3 armed officers on board. A Met ARV officer next to a typica

I've been wondering for a few days what to write about the ongoing far right unrest which is blighting many towns in the UK at the moment. I thought about musing on the causes, or the types of people who are inciting the mob, or even about those who are burning cars, looting shoe shops, or attacking the police, supposedly all in the name of three murdered little girls in Southport. But then I realised that the people I'm thinking about most is the police officers, out there,

If you've read my previous blog entries about armed policing, then you may recall that the Tactical Firearms Commander (TFC) makes the decision to deploy armed police, and comes up with a plan; then the Operational Firearms Commander (OFC) is responsible for putting the plan into effect on the ground. To help both commanders develop and deploy a plan, they make use of one or more pre-defined tactics, which outline how the armed police officers should approach and deal with an

In an earlier blog post I outlined the role of the TFC - the tactical firearms commander - who has responsibility for deciding to deploy armed units, and coming up with a plan. Above them in the command structure is the SFC - the Strategic Firearms Commander. They are a senior police officer - usually of at least the rank of Superintendent, and in smaller forces they can even be up to deputy Chief Constable level. In most forces, the SFC is on call and has other duties, altho

All firearms operations have a command structure, which is defined and explained in the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice guide to armed policing. The Operational Firearms Commander, or OFC, is an important role. They're a police officer, trained in firearms use and tactics, with additional training to allow them to command a team on the ground. When a TFC deploys armed officers to an incident, they will develop a tactical plan which outlines where the offi

First off, full disclosure - this is the role I performed in the Metropolitan Police for 5 years! TFC stands for Tactical Firearms Commander, a police officer of at least the rank of Inspector, who has received special training in firearms deployments and tactics, and been suitably accredited by the College of Policing. All TFCs must undergo annual appraisals to stay "in ticket", and must reaccredit every five years. Whenever firearms officers are deployed, they will be under

Many TV and film dramas portray British armed police, and as you might expect, there's a whole spectrum of authenticity on show from the amazingly accurate (they must have had a really good Police Advisor!) to the terrible. While much of the audience might not even notice, there's a proportion who will know something isn't right, and that can get in the way of their enjoyment and/or understanding of the story you're trying to tell. This is the first of a brief series of blog

What does the inside and outside of a police station look like? Maybe you already know?! It seems like a simple enough question, and I think most Film and TV productions make a pretty good go of it. But it may be that you need some help with the most minor details which could really make the difference. For example, I was working on a production not too long ago, a contemporary police drama. The main character had to grab their radio and make an urgent call. Simple enough, ri

Armed police seem to be a real staple of even the gentlest police and crime dramas these days. And why not - armed officers are highly trained, equipped with all sorts of rifles, handguns and other exciting looking kit, and they perform a vital role, dealing with some of the most violent and dangerous offenders in society. These dramas often portray the excitement of armed police smashing down doors and running into a building, pointing guns at everyone in there, lots of shou

Police officer hats -- maybe you've never given it much thought... There are of course the obvious ones - the iconic custodian helmet (recognised around the world as the headwear of the British "bobby") and the similar "bowler" (worn by women officers). But then there's the flat hat. And what about the bump cap? Or the riot helmet? What do they look like, who wears it, and when? Firstly, I’m talking today about England and Wales police forces - it’s different elsewhere, but I

I saw this quite recently on a crime drama set in contemporary times, and it really jarred. Police officers (male and female) were at the scene of a crime, speaking to witnesses, running cordons, generally doing police stuff. And they all had hats or helmets on with straps under their chin! The only time I can recall seeing officers wearing the straps on their helmets was during the miners’ strike in 1984 and the fighting between strikers and police (photo). It just doesn’t h

Ever watched a police drama where the police are undertaking a tense interview with a hardened criminal? You know the score - it's all sweaty brows, oneupmanship, and closeups of darting eyes. And then, we have other detectives watching the interview as it happens, through a one way mirror off to one side of the interview room. I have to tell you, I’ve never, ever seen an interview room equipped like this. Very occasionally someone might watch the interview via a video link,

Do you know your police ranks? What do all the stripes, pips and numbers mean? When and where are they worn? What about the colourful ones? All uniformed police officers should be displaying their rank and/or number somewhere on their uniform. Most often this will be epaulettes, on a shoulder - but they can also be on the front of stab vests, jackets, etc. There are lots of police ranks, not all of which are immediately obvious to the uninitiated. And to add to the confusion,